Source Filmmaker Wiki
Welcome to the Source Filmmaker Wiki A community wiki for users of the Source Filmmaker. The Source Filmmaker is a tool for games running the Source Engine (presently only the beta version of Team Fortress 2) which leaked by Valve in September of 2007. In December of 2009, a few members of Team Fortress 2 community managed to get the Source Filmmaker (SFM) in a usable state. As more people began to use it, information about the uncharted tool began flying accross forums, scattered and unorganized. The purpose of the Source Filmmaker Wiki is to create an organized database of tips and tricks for using the tool. Things such as quick tips, general help, workarounds, and full video tutorials will make up a bulk of the information here. Feel free to add any additional information, tips or tricks. Installing and configuring Acquire the TF2 Beta between the dates of 09-17-07 and 09-26-07. "One" distribution requires you to install HOT_FIX to Program Files\Team Fortress 2\bin, install FINAL_FIXX_ADVANCED to Program Files\Team Fortress 2\bin, and then add the Source Tools to the Program Files\Team Fortress 2\bin directory. If you do not have these tools, never fret! They are still easily acquired! Mirror 1 Mirror 2 Getting the beta isn't exactly 100% legal, so you're on to find it (hint: Google) External Tutorial If anyone actually got this far, (you brave, brave souls!) there's one more crucial step. Find your beta's directory folder and find hl2.exe. Right click the exe file and click send to -> desktop (create shortcut). This will create a shortcut to TF2 Beta that we can set specific launch properties. First, right click the shortcut and look where it says "target" followed by an editable text box. After the already present text, add: "-game tf -applaunch 440" without " and " Now, launch the game at least one time, load up any old map, then close the beta. Right click the shortcut again. This time, add: "-window -noborder -novid -tools" again without " and " Once these parameters are added to the shortcut, you should end up with a beautiful SFM window filling up your game window! If a dialog box pops up with a bunch of coding and .dll gibberish when loading the beta or loading a map, just click ok, it has no effect on the program or gameplay. After that, you're done! What you'll encounter Menial SFM The user must record what they do on a listen server onto shots. The user can choose to record (and how the experience is) on the record dialog. A user can selectively record "puppets" (models), sounds, particles, and their view onto shots. Puppets, sounds, and particles append straight onto the clip, while "their view" will simply alter any existing camera onto the shot... Shots have cameras. These cameras control the "viewpoint" in Filmmaker mode (vs. in-game, except for Progressive Refinement) and you can therefore tack things on like color correction, or field of view, etc.. At this point you may stop. If you want glorified demos you've hit the spot. But wait, there's more! Shots are in fact composed of tracks - of sounds, of models, of effects - here you can move them, clip them, etc. Certain objects can have chosen attributes (by Valve) changed at specific points in time and then tweened between with with Animation Sets. This means things like FOV on cameras, flexes on models, etc. Properties which are given controls (usually anything other than positions) are animated with curves. Some other properties (usually positions but this manifests as bones) may have to be first selected using the Selection Tool and then manipulated using the Manipulator Tool - this usually works in terms of offsets and so we have marching heavies that only require the head to be lifted. All animations can have their "motion" smoothed, jittered, etc. All objects (ostensibly DMElements) that make up your movie have their attributes, though, and they can be edited within the DME editor - from the important, like a shot's camera, to the mundane, like a puppet's name. In a stunning example of incongruency these cannot be animated from there. There are some objects that will remain anonymous... In fact, attributes of every single element that makes up the timeline can be edited in the DME editor, and more items than you think can be animated with Animation Sets - so name things, or search there to get the particular effect you want. At this point you may rest. Until we discover another gamechanger. The SFM in-depth Getting Around Filming & Editing Animation Rendering Tips & Tricks Videos Category:Browse